Touchstone Gallery invites artists to submit work for Fifty: A Community Memoir, a group exhibition exploring the layered histories, lived experiences, and enduring legacies that form our collective identity.
Memory is not only personal, but communal—carried over generations, embedded in place, and reflected in everyday life. This call seeks work that engages with ancestry, migration, neighborhood histories, family narratives, cultural traditions, and the marks left by time.
How do we remember? What do we inherit, preserve, or challenge? What stories have been silenced, and which ones endure?
TFA FELLOWSHIP
The Fellowship provides a two-year artist membership at Touchstone Gallery in downtown DC. Selected Fellows will be guaranteed participation in over twenty group exhibitions, receive mentorship from arts professionals and established artists, presence on the Touchstone Gallery and Touchstone Foundation for the Arts websites, and a solo exhibition at the end of the two-year term. Since 2014, Fellowships have been awarded to artists and are based on artistic merit.
ELIGIBILITY
This Fellowship is intended for emerging artists who are at least 18 years old. There is no age limit. TFA defines an emerging artist as someone in the early-to-developing phase of their artistic career who is actively building a body of work but has not yet reached sustained, widespread visibility or institutional validation. Artists working in all disciplines who can commit to a two-year Fellowship term and can fulfill the responsibilities and requirements are encouraged to apply. While there is no set distance limit, applicants should be based in the greater Washington, DC area.
SELECTION PROCESS
Applications are open through July 7, 2026.
Round 3 submissions will open on August 4, 2026.
MAKE SURE TO READ THE FULL PROSPECTUS TO GET MANY OF YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED!
To celebrate our 50th anniversary, Touchstone Gallery honors its legacy as an artist-run, community-centered space. 50 for 50 is an open call for artists to present work throughout 2026. In addition to highlighting visual artists through a series of spotlight exhibitions, this opportunity also seeks artists working with video, film, performance, music, and other interdisciplinary practices.
This series of exhibitions and programs embraces the dynamic range of DC-area art and artists. Artists working in any visual and time-based media are welcome to submit. Possible mediums include but are not limited to painting, printmaking, textile and fiber, photography, sculpture, ceramics, collage, video, animation, sound, performance, mixed media, and experimental or hybrid forms. Proposals may include exhibitions, installations, murals, readings, or performances. Participatory events that engage audiences are welcome.
This call is open to artists of all ages who live or work within 50 miles of Touchstone Gallery. Student artists under 18 must apply with an educator or guardian serving as the facilitator/primary applicant.